Overview

total market size = (total local production + imports) – exports]
Units: USD millions
Source: World Trade Atlas; Industry Associations 

Colombia’s installed electric power generation capacity currently stands at 17,720 MW, with hydro accounting for 69 percent, gas-and coal-fired power plants accounting for 30 percent, and the remaining one percent from wind and solar units. The country energy matrix is clean but highly dependent on climatic conditions due to the dependence on hydro.

Colombia’s Energy Transition process is underway. President Duque’s administration set a goal to increase non-conventional renewable energy installed capacity from one percent to more than 12 percent of the energy matrix by 2022.  This is part of Colombia meeting its goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from business as-usual projections by 51 percent by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

In October 2019, Colombia’s Mining and Energy Planning Unit (UPME) awarded contracts for nine wind and five solar large-scale projects, worth around USD 2.2 billion, to four developers. The developers will sign a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for 1.29 GW of wind and solar capacity due to be commissioned by 2022. The projects will contribute to the country’s aim to generate 2.5GW of solar, wind and biomass energy by 2022.

After the approval of Law 1715 in 2014, the government maintained its efforts to promote private ventures in large scale, renewable energy projects. The implementation of new regulatory measures supports a suitable environment for unconventional renewable power projects to be competitive and increase the reliability of the power grid system, in addition to developing a sound smart meter infrastructure by 2030.  

In August 2021, the Colombian national oil company, Ecopetrol, acquired the Colombian government’s shares in Interconexion Electrica S.A.S. (ISA).  ISA is a Latin America based business group largely focused on electric power transportation and generation with a growing presence in countries across the region; it also owns Colombia’s grid operator (XM).

Leading Sub-Sectors

• Power distribution and specialty transformers
• Switchgears
• Solar photovoltaic systems
• Wind power systems
• Industrial controls
• Steam, gas, and hydraulic turbines
• Smart meters and demand response systems
• Turbine generator sets 
• Consulting services (Project Management)
• Energy storage
• Lithium batteries

Opportunities

The outlook for the Colombian electricity sector is promising since the government is developing several new power generation projects to accommodate growing demand through 2031. The 2.4 GW Ituango hydro project that suffered from landslides and flooding of its powerhouse has a delay in its completion. Its first unit of phase one is projected to come online in 2023, and the final unit of phase two is projected to reach completion in 2026.

The government announced that in October 2021, a third auction of long-term contracting of non-conventional renewable energy (wind and solar) will be called. XM S.A. E.S.P., the Colombian power grid operator and wholesale electricity market coordinator has been assigned as the auctioneer for this third auction.

The country is developing the regulatory framework to promote new technologies such as geothermal, hydrogen (green and blue) and offshore wind.  The public consultation of the geothermal regulation took place in December 2020. The final decree should be released soon.  The Ministry of Mines and Energy announced that the roadmap for green and blue hydrogen to assess its competitiveness and domestic demand should be ready in October 2021.

Distributed Generation projects are also growing in Colombia, more than 1,000 projects within the private sector companies from different industries are looking to install solar photovoltaic solutions that allow them to generate their own energy.

Trade Events

FISE 2022 (International Fair on the Electric Sector)

April 5-7, 2022

Plaza Mayor Convention and Exhibition Center

Medellín, Colombia

For additional information, including market analysis, trade events, and the products and services that the U.S. Commercial Service can provide to help you succeed in the Colombian market, please contact:

U.S. Embassy Bogotá
Norcia Ward
Oil and Gas Commercial Assistant
Norcia.WardMarin@trade.gov  

+57 (601) 275-2703
https://www.trade.gov/colombia